A doctor's son, Nicola Vaccaj (1790 - 1848), learned the first rudiments of the musical art in Pesaro. In his youth, he first displayed a talent for letters, writing tragedies in verse to imitate Alfieri. Yet, he realised his true vocation in Rome, where he went in 1807 to study law. After abandoning his studies, he received music lessons from Giuseppe Janacconi and graduated as maestro at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in 1811. He then went to Naples, where he took lessons from Paisiello between 1812 and 1815, studying mainly dramatic music, and wrote church music and cantatas for private Neapolitan houses. His debut as an opera composer occurred on 18 February 1815 at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples with I solitari di Scozia.

Rossini expressed a flattering judgement on Vaccaj, praising, in particular, the final act of Giulietta e Romeo, confident that it assured the composer the Marche "a very bright place among composers of the highest renown". Vaccaj adheres to the purest Italian bel canto tradition, which seeks a fusion of dramatic action and singing performance. His vocal style does not have as many musical

flourishes as Rossini's: Vaccaj dislikes acrobatics and reserves his natural talent for well-shaped phrases, which seek the right balance between lyrical effusion and dramatic accents. These features made him - the episode of I Capuleti e Montecchi finale amply proves it - one of the most favourite composers among singers of the time.